Boats are inherently expensive and require a high degree of maintenance. In the past, boat owners would typically pay a slip fee and simply leave their boat in the water tied to the dock. As a result of this practice, periodic maintenance of the boat was required in the form of cleaning the bottom of the boat. In either fresh or salt water the detrimental effects are pervasive. In fresh water, silt, algae, moss, etc. attack the hull of the boat. In saltwater, barnacles, mussels, seaweed and spilled oil contaminate the hull. If the hull of the boat is not cleaned periodically the performance of the boat is dramatically affected and over time the hull of the boat could be permanently damaged. Even periodic cleaning is hard on the boat given repeated cleanings which can result in fiberglass saturation from high pressure washers.
Additionally, one environmental concern about leaving a boat in the water is that there is the potential that aquatic invasive species can attach to your boat which is detrimental when the boat is then sailed in another body of water resulting in the cross contamination of lakes and streams.
Most if not all of these effects can be eliminated by simply removing the boat from the water while not in use. Traditionally removing a boat from the water means drawing it up a boat-ramp onto a boat trailer. This is not convenient particularly when the boat ramp is not close to where you actively boat.
Also, boats are available in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. It is not practical to remove larger boats from the water after each use. It is especially difficult to remove sailboats from the water because of their large keels. There exist pneumatic boat-lift apparatus available commercially but they all have the disadvantage of requiring a hard connection to a dock. The hard dock connection often results in undue stress and eventual damage to the dock. As a result many marinas do not permit the use of pneumatic boat-lifts.
The only known boat-lifts utilize a steel frame that must be anchored to the dock. The frame is heavy and subject to corrosion from water and salt. The additional weight necessitates larger pontoons. Larger pontoons require more air volume to create the necessary buoyancy to raise the boat out of the water. Traditionally, existing boat-lifts only fit a narrow range of boat sizes and styles. The present invention is formed almost entirely out of polymer so it is not affected by the corrosive nature of water and salt and it is relatively light weight. It is not required to be anchored to the dock and it is adjustable to accommodate various sizes and styles of boats.
Advantages of the elevated dock of the present invention over presently known boat-lifts may include, but are not limited to the following advantages. The support plates for the hull are adjustable. Uniquely designed flat gusset plates may be used to attach the round pontoons together while also incorporating integral tie-downs and service plank mounting positions. Uniquely designed flat gusset plates may restrict the rotation of the rear exhaust ports. Further, the elevated dock is not required to be anchored to a dock. Polymer used to form the majority of the elevated dock is light weight and not subject to corrosion from water and salt. The elevated dock will not sink to the bottom if the air is fully released from the pontoons. The elevated dock has a positive stop notifying the boat operator that the boat is properly positioned for optimal performance of the boat-lift.
The elevated dock is adjustable to fit various boat sizes and styles. The elevated dock does not require skilled labor to install. It is simply assembled and placed into the water. The elevated dock does not require any specialized tools to assemble or adjust. All hardware is attached to the polymer structure by lanyards.
The elevated dock has optional sea anchors or stabilizing baffles (stabilizing plates that extend horizontally or vertically along the length of the pontoons) to ensure a stable platform in rough waters enabling the elevated dock to be used with a mooring buoy in open waters. Another embodiment of the present invention has articulated pontoons for use with sailboats. Embodiments may have a sealed pontoon at the front of the boat-lift that is positioned perpendicular to the side pontoons and may have a rotating attachment to the side pontoons. Also, embodiments of the present invention can accommodate personal watercraft in addition to the boat or be used for multiple personal watercrafts.
The purpose of this innovation is to provide a safe stable elevated platform out of the water for the boat to reside when not in use, thus eliminating the required maintenance described above.